How many movies will be ruined by the filmmakers’ ideology before the woke fever breaks?
“Poor Things” teeters on that very edge, and it’s a shame given our quest for original storytelling.
Director Yorgos Lanthimos uncorks a wildly original Frankenstein re-imagining with a canvas unlike any we’ve seen before.
The film’s third act drowns in feminist messaging, turning one of the year’s creative triumphs into a maddening waste of time, resources and the remarkable Emma Stone.
Stone plays Bella Baxter, the fantastical creation of Dr. Godwin Baxter (Willem Dafoe), or “God” as Bella affectionately calls him. She’s a Frankenstein’s monster of sorts, stitcher together with a brain that’s anything but “Abbie-Normal.”
That noggin is young and vital, allowing Bella to evolve from a grunting Neanderthal into a droll soul with a penchant for philosophy. Her beauty allows her entry into polite society where she scorns every cultural norm and attracts the attention of Duncan Wedderburn (Mark Ruffalo, over the top and loving it).
He’s smitten, no doubt, and she’s happy to use him for plenty of “jumping” — her term for wild intercourse. She’s not satisfied, though, and every time Duncan tries to tame Bella she fights back even harder.
Along the way, she teaches us all a lesson about the evil patriarchy and the quest for sex-positive empower—get the picture?
Modern storytellers don’t trust audiences to make the necessary connections. They lecture and finger wag, making sure there’s no one in the theater who misses the message on colorful display.
Not even the guy slinging popcorn.
The Future Is Female. Down with the Patriarchy. It’s like the Women’s March circa 2017-2020. And there’s little wrong with this brand of storytelling.
Films offer a powerful medium to make audiences ponder new or existing philosophies. Would anyone argue women were societally speaking, equal to men in the 19th century?
Of course not, and a film set in that era has every right to explore it. That’s precisely what “Poor Things “does for much of its running time. The story works on dual tracks. Bella’s unfiltered speech shows how much we self-censor in the company of others.
Duncan wants to keep her under his thumb, where she can neither thrive nor grow into the person she’s fully capable of being.
The screenplay all but shouts this long after we’ve processed the message on our own.
Robert Downey Jr. and Mark Ruffalo gush over Emma Stone's performance in #PoorThings: "This is such a defining moment as an actor for her." https://t.co/hsmY5hz8FA pic.twitter.com/vcB3qe7ElU
— Variety (@Variety) December 4, 2023
Writer Tony McNamara and co. created a throwback yarn with anachronistic flashes that confuse and dazzle. The story is set in the late 1800s yet we see blimp-like vehicles dotting the sky like a blast from the future.
Even the dialogue sounds alternately archaic and modern, further pushing audiences out of our comfort zone.
It works. Mostly.
So do the scrumptious visuals, which start in serene black and white but flower into dazzling rainbow swatches.
Lanthimos’ lens uses every trick to warp and extend the frame, turning mundane shots into mesmerizing snippets meant to keep us off balance. No two scenes look alike, but they’re all united by a consistent vision.
“Poor Things” is a Frankenstein’s monster of styles and sounds that walks and talks with purpose. At times it even gallops.
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Stone is spectacular in a showy performance that never wears out its welcome. She’s sexy and guarded, confused and certain. Yet her character arc feels trapped by the filmmakers’ vision. This isn’t a character evolving organically but someone living out an ideology.
The film finds Stone in various states of undress and committed to serial on-screen sex in ways we rarely see these days. The effect isn’t shocking, and it’s certainly not meant to be titillating.
It’s more TED Talk than R-rated romp, one suggesting women can sell their bodies without peddling off pieces of their souls.
Life suggests otherwise.
Yet “Poor Things” is chronically funny, from its odd collection of profanity or the visual gags that land with force. Few comedies bring merriment quite like Stone and her co-horts, yet the film’s waning moments leave a bitter aftertaste when we’re meant to feel empowered.
A third-act twist is initially rewarding, but it gives way to a resolution that’s nonsensical and cruel on several fronts.
Ramy Youssef plays the most emasculated male character in ages, yet we’re informed he’s meant to be a paragon of sorts.
Dafoe’s character could have helped unite the film’s disparate elements. Instead, he’s just another freak in the director’s carnival, his humanity stripped away just when we need it the most.
End of TED talk.
HiT or Miss: “Poor Things” is partly one of the year’s most powerful films and an example of how doctrinaire thinking can spoil the best cinematic trips.
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